Hello, Are you there?
by Takahashi Nana
Summary: Akashi is studying in Boston, Massachusetts so that he can become a better head of the family, and Furihata chose to stay in Tokyo to become a doctor. They both lead such busy lives and barely have time for each other, so perhaps it's time for one of them to end this...
**Hi! I'm really supposed to be working on a new chapter for my other story, "Furihata Kouki is a Yaoi Manga Artist", but I heard this song: watch?v=fkrULbsaCZU and got a little inspired, so I wrote this. It's...a breakup song, so this is a breakup story!**

 **Enjoy!**

It's 8:00 PM in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

The sky had transformed from a pale blue into an almost unrecognizable black, and the golden streetlights hanging on 20-meter-tall poles, as if on cue, blink themselves awake and spray the air around them a misty gold. They, along with the variously coloured shops and a remarkably ostentatious neon sign for a gas station (CITGO, the sign read), dye the already busy city night an almost cliche poeticness as a stream of car and their cherry red hindlights fill the scenery with sound. Seijuurou opens his phone. It's raining, so the water dripping on just about everything-the shops, the road, the cars, the cellphone in his hand-glitters with a golden gleam as it trickles down trees and roofs and, as it falls, pitter-patters upon the tiled sidewalk.

Yet, in spite of the unsightly weather, there are still so many things moving and rushing and chattering-Seijuurou lifts his head and comes face to face with a female student, probably an international student like him, with a somewhat familiar shade of brown hair.

She asks: "Can I stand next to you and just hide from the rain a little bit?"

He replies: "sure" and moves his body a little bit to the right.

As he does that, a myriad of people gush past him. Probably to go on the subway, he thinks. To where, though, he can't be sure: there are college students looking for something fun to do on a Friday night, ordinary people just wanting to get back home, busy businessmen trying to make things right with their family, and those who have given up on doing that. They are so different but they were so similar at the same time-all humans, all hurrying, all chattering-but none of them are listening.

Probably too caught up in their own glittering, multicolored worlds to care about the glittering, multicolored worlds of others.

Seijuurou's screen glows a boring, unpoetic white as its owner leans against the wall of a nameless coffee shop, pretending to look through his phone contacts for the name of a certain someone even though _it's right there, right below the letter "K"_ -He ignores that, and continues to half-heartedly scroll, fingers hesitantly gliding across the surface.

Ahh, he really shouldn't be here, he really shouldn't be doing this. He has much better things to do: studying for that Microeconomics class, or reading those 60 pages of "Prince" he had kind of been putting off, or writing that essay about "Great Expectation" that's due next Friday, or call someone else to do the job for him. It's not like he's enjoying his time here beneath this veranda here: he's shivering, and everything-the air, the ground, his hands, his eyes-is so disgusting and cold and wet.

After all, _that person_ won't mind a little bit of waiting. He'll understand, just as he had always done-but Seijuurou can't do that again. He's already made _that person_ wait too long, abused his kindness and understanding, made him withstand far too many "sometime else"s and "I'm busy"s and-

He should at least give _that person_ this much of his time.

The "pitter patter"s and the "squish-squashes" and the "how are you"s and the "Nice to meet you"s reverberating in his ears, Seijuurou takes a deep breath as he finally ceases to ignore the name. He presses a shaking thumb to the name, half-registering the contact image of a smiling brunette as all of the other's contact information pops up before his eyes. The redhead flips to the phone number, mutters the digits over and over until the number in engrained in his memory, and switches to the calling pad even though he could have just clicked "Call" on the contacts page.

Instead of pressing the numbers, Seijuurou stops and looks up as if the city night can give him an answer. His eyes glide from one golden corner on the sidewalk to the car that has been tinted green by the traffic light and eventually settles on the passerbys, who looked so dreamy and young under the night but turned a paler, more bland shade under the ruthless fluorescent lights of the subway station.

Sometimes the less you know of something, the more attractive it is.

Seijuurou turns to the phone in his hand.

 _Beep Beep Beep. Beep Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Press the call button._

" _Hi, This is Furihata Kouki. I'm afraid I'm unable to answer at the moment, but please leave a message! I promise I will check it as soon as possible! Thanks!"_

Seijuurou swallows.

"Answer me, please." He says, "I know you're awake. It's 8:05 on a Friday here, so it has to be at least 10:00 on a Saturday morning there."

"Or I suppose you don't want to answer me. Do you not want to talk to me? Well, I suppose I understand why. After all, I haven't been exactly what you would call an ideal boyfriend. How long has it been since we talked? Wait," he awkwardly laughs, "Don't answer that, actually. The answer will probably make me feel more horrible than I already do."

"How is it in Tokyo? It's about time the cherry blossoms start blooming in Japan, right? That means that Winter is ending-haha, well not in Boston. We just had a bit of a snowstorm last week, but Spring will start for you, and everything would be rendered anew, including the flowers, grass, and...I guess some personal relationships. Oh, and don't forget the festivals-there's plenty of festivals in March. Oh god, I miss the festivals and wearing Yukatas and eating expertly grilled octopus! The Japanese food in America is horrible and, nine out of ten times, not made by actual Japanese people."

"Anyway, remember how, the day after graduation, we went to Seirin's school-sponsored school festival together? It took some convincing on father's side, but I guess it was worth it since since I got to see you stuffing your face full of candy apples and look like a squirrel. That look kind of suited you, oddly enough. You looked nice with puffed up cheeks and brown sauce smeared all over your cheeks, like...it accentuated your brown hair and your large eyes well? I don't really know, hahaha. But I wore that red and gold yukata while you wore a coffee-coloured one, and we talked about each other's day as we sat on the grass down by the river. Oh, speaking of which, you better not be skipping meals. I know medical school's tough, but that's no reason to abuse your body."

"But we were sitting on that grass and talking when the fireworks came out. The large 'boom' frightened you, and you cursed, saying that there wasn't supposed to be fireworks that night-but I thought it was a nice addition to the night. Do you remember? We sat like that by the river as the ball of light shot up into the sky and subsequently burst into multi-coloured beams, the colourful pattern reflected in the navy blue waters. As that one ball died, more balls of light shot up and made the dark night look like some sort of flower garden. You, despite your initial protest, got a little too into the mood and turned to kiss me on the face. It was, objectively, a rather bad kiss-a bit too sloppy and a bit to misaimed for me-but how can I, even now, ever call anything from you bad?"

"Who were those fireworks aimed for again? Was it Kagami trying to impress Kuroko? Oh yes, I think that was the case-them returnees, all fancy and dramatic. He's lucky that he'd already graduated, because if I was the principal I would have suspended his sorry self...but whoever that firework show was actually aimed for, it felt like it was aimed for us, you know? Like...it was supposed to be a lucky farewell sign as you move on to medical school and I go on to study Business in Harvard?"

"It's kind of amazing how far we had gone. When you first met me on those stairs, you were shivering like a wet dog, but I bet you're not shivering like a wet dog now, right? You're going to be an amazing doctor after you finish school, and there's no reason that you should feel ashamed about anything anymore. About this situation...it's not your fault, darling, it's mine. Mine and mine only."

"Ha, to think that I was scolding Taiga for his dramatic confession-my confession was even more dramatic and probably even more awkward for you. I can see you blushing right now-yes, to think that I hung around your school door for an hour with a bouquet in my hand! I was so childish and embarrassing-I can't believe that you accepted me, but I suppose that we were both kids back then, full of dreams and hope for the future. When you said that things can't work out for two guys, I even laughed at you and said that everything will work out if we love each other enough."

"But it didn't work that way. I had to go to America to study and prepare for my future while you went to medical school to prepare for yours. And no one forced us into these decisions-we both decided that this is what we wanted; I wanted to lead my family effectively and you wanted to become a doctor, and neither is wrong, but...I guess...I guess that neither of us fit well into each other's lives anymore."

"Reality set in for us-I don't want to make you feel awful, but do you have any idea how much work Harvard is? The combination of language, classes, and internship-I haven't sleep a full night in weeks, not to mention make time for you... and Medical school couldn't have been easy either. Actually, I guess I shouldn't complain, since you managed to make time for me-I suppose I'm the person who gave up on us first, but think about it. Our lives aren't going to get less busy if you do become a doctor and I do become the head of the Akashi, and what...even is our relationship anymore? Can we call it love anymore? It's so strained, so stretched out that it can't even be recognized as what it had once been. Love isn't blind, and us, right now, just aren't compatible for each other anymore."

"So I guess this is where we're going to end. I-I-I am a-afraid that...that I...That I'm going to be the person that starts and ends this relationship. Look, I'm stuttering...so uncharacteristic of me, isn't it? Haha...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I...I think that it's time we separate...Kouki."

"Kouki, don't make me say your name more than necessary. I'm trying my hardest to let you go, to let us go, I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Seijuurou, shaking his head, pressed the "end call" button, but the tears made the cellphone screen glitch and, no matter how many times the redhead pressed the button, the plastic box just won't cut their feeble connection, even though its owner is trying so hard, so hard to do so. Groaning unattractively through his tears, the redhead brusquely wiped the device on his pants and ended the call.

The girl next to him turned towards the crying man, and, worried, handed him a handkerchief. "Are you okay?" She asked.

He raised his tear-filled eyes to the dark sky and observed the rain as he slid down the wall onto the ground, not caring that his dress pants would be dirtied-they're black, anyway-and allowed his mind to be filled with thoughts of _that person_ and nothing else.

"Yeah." He said, "thanks."

 **Thank you for reading my humble fanfic! If you have any criticism or comments please don't be afraid to drop a review :3 Also, I currently live in Boston so I know what I'm talking about in this story ;-) BTW, I made a tumblr nanaofthighbridges! I post this story, as well as my other oneshot stories, there so please check it out if you are so inclined!**

 **Thank you for reading and have a lovely day!**


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